After placing first at both the ESEA LAN finals and the LANchamp Baltimore event, Dynamic still had some business to take care of online, namely the remainder of the season in CEVO-P. Even though the team has been recognized as the top CSS team in North America for a while, the CEVO-P title always seemed to elude their grasp. They finished in first place at the end of the regular season, a spot they have been all too familiar with. But this time, the guys were determined not to let it slip away during the playoffs.

Because of their #1 seed, Dynamic received a BYE in the first round to meet up with Vision.Valor.Victory in the second round. While vVv was able to pull out some upsets against Dynamic and other top teams in the regular season, Dynamic made sure this wouldn’t happen again as they quickly mopped up with a 16-5 win on de_train. The Upper Bracket finals saw Dynamic pitted against a team they have come to know very well in recent weeks, Cyber Revolution. On the first half of de_nuke, Dynamic put up a solid 10-5 lead, but they just couldn’t grab all the necessary rounds in the second half as Cyber Revolution came back to win the match 16-13. Dynamic was then sent to the Lower Bracket finals against Netcode Illuminati. The best of three series went to Dynamic without too much of a struggle winning the first two maps 16-8 and 16-10. They then got to have their shot at a rematch against Cyber Revolution. This time, things went a lot smoother as they grabbed the first two maps to shut down Cyber Revolution in the best of three.

With this victory, Dynamic’s CSS division added another $2,500 to their winnings in July. The ever elusive CEVO-P title brings the total winnings of the team to $11,500 in under a month. And while this was the first time they took first in CEVO-P, there certainly aren’t any plans on making it the last. The new seasons are starting up soon in addition to some upcoming LAN events the team will attend, so as usual, there is no slowing down. Congratulations to the team, and remember to keep checking in at teamdynamic.biz/ and #teamdynamic in IRC for the latest info.

The third LANchamp event took place this past Saturday, this time at the Graphix Gaming Center in Baltimore, MD.  Like the past two events in Chicago and Los Angeles, this event showcased four of the top CS:S teams in North America, all competing for their share of the $10,000 prize pot.  And just like the past two LANchamp events, Dynamic made their third appearance in Baltimore after winning the two online qualifier matches.

Kicking off the day, Dynamic was pitted against Cyber Revolution - the same team that they beat in the ESEA finals the previous Sunday.  The best of three match began on de_contra, where both teams gave it everything they had, as throughout the entire match, neither team gained the clear upper hand.  Cyber Revolution won the final round to force overtime, but after that, it was all Dynamic.  Sweeping the first three rounds on CT side, Dynamic did not slow down after the switch to Terrorist side as they took the first round, and the map overall.  The next map played was de_inferno, and that turned out to be another story.  Beginning on T side of the generally heavily CT-sided map, Dynamic was able to grab 10 out of the 15 rounds at half.  Cyber Revolution could never recover from their poor start, as Dynamic wrapped up the match 16-10.  Cyber Revolution was pushed into the lower bracket where they were then knocked out to finish fourth place at the event.

Next up was Area 51 after their first round victory over SP.  The first map was de_train, another heavily CT-sided map.  Once again though, Dynamic managed to get off to a roaring start on T side as they took 11 rounds at the half.  On CT side, they only gave up one more, as they finished the map with a blowout 16-5 win against Area 51.  de_tuscan, the second map, allowed Area 51 to put up a little more of a fight.  A glitch in the first half dropped adreN from the server, leaving Dynamic at a disadvantage and Area 51 leading 9-6 at the half.  Dynamic regained strength though and never let up, only allowing Area 51 to gain one round win on CT side when the closed the match with a 16-10 win on de_tuscan.  Area 51 then had to face SP again, where they won a second time, guaranteeing themselves a spot in the finals match against Dynamic.

The first map of the finals was a return to de_contra which was Area 51's map choice.  Dynamic got off to a huge lead, but Area 51 was able to battle back, forcing the map into overtime.  Both teams grabbed three rounds in the first OT, but the second OT turned into the AZK show as he helped his team take four consecutive rounds, winning them the first map.  Dynamic then chose de_inferno for their map choice, and they once again began with a solid first half when Area 51 made a late run before the side switch.  Dynamic was up 10-5 at half - a pretty standard CT score on the map.  They came out swinging on T side though, and reached game point quickly.  Then a!m from Area 51 received the same glitch adreN did in the de_tuscan match, and was kicked from the server.  Though Dynamic gave them that round, Area 51 never recovered as Dynamic finished the map 16-8.

Overall the event was a huge success for Dynamic.  They took home first place and the $5,000 that title held.  Throughout the entire event, Dynamic played some very close matches on de_contra, but they still never gave up a single map at the LAN.  This marks their second LAN victory in just under one week when coupled with their ESEA victory the previous Sunday, making this weeks earnings an impressive $9,000 for just this week.  Though the LAN events are temporarily slowing down, Dynamic is not.  They are currently in the CEVO playoffs and the Newegg Wanfest online, so remember to check up with this website and #teamdynamic in IRC for the latest info.

Photos of the event can be found at:

http://www.eseanews.com/css/index.php?s=gallery&d=view_gallery&id=122

More in depth coverage of individual matches and screenshots can be found at:

http://www.eseanews.com/css/index.php?s=news&d=list&event_id=122

Another season of ESEA Invite has come and gone, and once again, adreN, PEX, sunman, Legend, and AZK have come out on top.  After a shaky midseason by the team due to some roster mixups, Dynamic was able to squeeze by with the number 4 seed, making their way to the ESEA Finals held on LAN in Dallas, TX.  But they still had plenty of road left ahead of them as they had to face off against well-known, solid teams in Hausen, Blight CA, and Cyber Revolution.

Being the lowest seed, Dynamic's first challenge came in #1 seeded Hausen.  Every match at the LAN was a best of three format, with the exception of the final match which was a best of five.  Hausen and Dynamic's first map came on de_nuke, where Hausen got off to an absolutely huge start on CT side, winning 13-2 at half.  In spite of this disadvantage, Dynamic somehow rallied back to tie the game and force overtime.  It wasn't until the second overtime that either team won a round on T side, and that team ended up being Dynamic as they took the map 22-18.  Hausen kept things close in the next map, de_contra, but not nearly close enough, as Dynamic ended up winning that map as well, 16-12.  Hausen then moved on to the lower bracket where they took on, and beat Blight CA in two maps.

Dynamic's last match on Saturday was against Cyber Revolution.  With big rounds from both AZK and PEX, Dynamic was able to take de_season by a score of 16-12.  Things finally took a turn for the worst on the next map though, as Dynamic began the second map with an extremely poor CT side on de_inferno.  Making matters worse, they could only pick up one round on T side, as Cyber Revolution took the map 16-8.  The third map to determine the winner was de_dust2.  Stepping it back up, AZK made things happen once again as Dynamic returned to their playstyle and wrapped up the match with a 16-10 win on map three.  Cyber Revolution was then sent to the lower bracket finals which they won the next day against Hausen.

Now playing against Cyber Revolution for a second time in the finals, Dynamic's advantage for winning the upper bracket was their choice for the first three maps to be played in the best of five series.  Starting off on CT side of de_train, Dynamic played only a mediocre first half as shaffeR from Cyber Revolution was able to pick up several multi-frag rounds throughout the match.  Once again though, Dynamic rallied to play an impressive T side, finishing the map with a 16-14 win.  The second map of choice was de_season, and just like the previous map, the guys began with a slow start, finishing the half with only five rounds.  But in true Dynamic fashion, they brought it back to tie the map and bring it into overtime. Cyber Revolution had a lot of trouble at this point as they couldn't pick up a single round in OT, wrapping the match up with a score of 19-15 in favor of Dynamic.  The final map Dynamic chose was de_nuke.  Like clockwork, the team finished the first half with a less than stellar CT side of 9-6, but picked it up in the second half, winning 7 rounds, and closing out the match 16-13.

Dynamic walks away from this ESEA LAN in first place with a grand total of $4,000.  Although this is the first ESEA LAN this team has competed in under the Dynamic banner, they have also won the last two with their previous sponsor, making this championship their three-peat.  Congratulations to Dynamic and all the other teams that competed at the LAN.  A lot of tough competition and really close and exciting matches surfaced from every team that attended, and each team came away from the LAN with cash in their pockets.

While this victory is certainly huge for the team, there are no signs of taking a break, as next weeked the team finds themselves in Baltimore, MD for the third LANchamp $10,000 event.  As always, stay up to date by checking in at http://teamdynamic.biz/ and idling in IRC at #teamdynamic